The financial terms of the agreement were not officially disclosed by either party. However, the Wall Street Journal, as cited by Reuters, reported that SpaceX would pay approximately US$8 billion in cash for the assets, citing people familiar with the matter. The spectrum acquisition remains subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission.

• The agreement covers 100% of Grain Management’s nationwide 800 MHz spectrum portfolio.
• SpaceX is the acquiring entity, and Grain Management is the seller.
• The transaction requires FCC approval before it can be completed.
• The Wall Street Journal, cited by Reuters, reported the deal at approximately US$8 billion in cash; neither SpaceX nor Grain confirmed the figure.
• Grain Management acquired the airwaves from T-Mobile earlier this year.

Low-Band Spectrum Could Extend Starlink Mobile Coverage

Starlink Mobile already holds global 2 GHz mid-band spectrum designed for high-bandwidth capacity. The proposed spectrum acquisition of Grain’s low-band 800 MHz portfolio could complement those mid-band holdings by addressing a persistent challenge in satellite communications. According to Reuters, low-band frequencies can travel longer distances and penetrate obstacles such as walls and tree cover, qualities that could improve both broad coverage and in-building reliability for direct-to-device services.

Grain CEO David Grain said the deal has “the potential to change where and how Americans connect.”

Most existing mobile handsets already support the 800 MHz frequency band, which could reduce the need for consumers to buy proprietary satellite phones. However, Verizon spokesman Rich Young cautioned that spectrum alone is not sufficient. “This company can have tons of spectrum available, but if they do not have the network to use it, it doesn’t matter. It’s just empty airwaves,” Young said.

Shares of major wireless carriers fell around 6% in extended trading following the news. The three largest carriers had formed a satellite-focused joint venture in May, a move some analysts believe was intended to counter competitive pressure from SpaceX.

FCC Approval Remains a Key Transaction Milestone

The spectrum acquisition between SpaceX and Grain Management cannot proceed without FCC approval, and that regulatory milestone has not yet been reached. In response to the agreement, FCC Chair Brendan Carr offered a supportive tone: “We are going to see more investment, more opportunities for a range of providers, and America leading the world in next-gen technologies to the benefit of consumers all across the country,” Carr said.

Separately, the FCC this week approved Starlink Mobile’s Gen2 constellation application, authorizing SpaceX to launch 15,000 satellites optimized for 2 GHz spectrum globally. The Gen2 satellite fleet is intended to operate in very low Earth orbit, delivering expanded bandwidth and low-latency connections to standard handsets. This authorization is distinct from the pending spectrum acquisition and does not constitute approval of the Grain Management transaction.

• FCC approval is still required for the spectrum acquisition to close.
• The FCC separately authorized Starlink Mobile’s Gen2 constellation application.
• The Gen2 authorization covers 15,000 satellites optimized for 2 GHz spectrum.
• The satellite fleet is designed to operate in very low Earth orbit for low-latency direct-to-device connectivity.
• Most standard handsets support the 800 MHz band, potentially broadening the addressable market without specialized hardware.

William Blair analysts noted that “The incumbent wireless carriers have been vocal in expressing skepticism that SpaceX’s network will be able to match the quality of their networks,” adding, “We expect SpaceX to offer a very compelling Starlink broadband and Starlink Mobile bundle. The company may also include Grok in the package,” referring to the AI chatbot developed by Musk’s xAI.

The AI cybersecurity council includes SK Telecom and Upstage, information security companies SK Shields, SecuI, AhnLab, RaonSecure, Genians and Piolink, and three academic institutions: Korea University, Soongsil University and Pusan National University.

• A total of 11 organisations participate in the AI cybersecurity council
• SK Telecom’s AX K series and Upstage’s Solar are the two AI models involved
• Participating companies contribute security operational data covering malware analysis, vulnerability analysis and security monitoring
• Training proceeds through pre-training and post-training stages
• Universities provide independent third-party evaluation of model performance and safety

Developing AI Models with Real-World Security Data

The central objective of the council is to expand AX K and Solar into the cybersecurity sector. To achieve this, the two models are being developed using security operational data contributed by participating companies. This data spans areas such as malware analysis, vulnerability analysis and security monitoring.

During pre-training, foundational security knowledge is built into the models. In the post-training stage, job-specific data from security operations is used to enhance real-world task performance. Security tasks targeted through this process include software vulnerability analysis and patching, security control centre incident response and the safe utilisation of security tools.

Participating companies are contributing threat intelligence, malware analysis data, security solution operation experience and other field expertise. SK Shields, for example, analyses 17 billion threat events per day in real time through its Secudium platform. AhnLab brings more than 2.5 PB of security data along with malware and endpoint threat detection technology.

Participating companies plan to apply AX K and Solar to security products and services, including zero-day vulnerability analysis and real-time security monitoring. Analysis and response cases identified during validation will be fed back as training data, creating a cycle of data acquisition, model training and performance verification.

Validation Through Red-Teaming and University Assessment

The AI cybersecurity council has adopted a process of mutual red-teaming, in which AX K and Solar attack and evaluate each other to identify vulnerabilities. Weaknesses discovered through this process can be used as training data to strengthen the defensive capabilities of both models.

• Korea University verifies executable file analysis capabilities and defence against attacks
• Soongsil University verifies AI security performance evaluation criteria and response to guardrail bypass attacks
• Pusan National University verifies performance and safety of next-generation and lightweight models

Yoo Kyung-sang, Head of SKT’s AI CIC, said, “The level of security AI ultimately depends on how broadly and deeply a model can reason,” adding, “We will demonstrate the effectiveness of national representative AI models in the cybersecurity domain by proving the effectiveness of models validated in our proprietary AI Foundation Model Project in real-world security settings, in collaboration with leading domestic information security companies and universities.”

The participating organisations plan to identify joint research projects and review participation in AI and information security projects through regular technical exchanges. The AI cybersecurity council remains open to future participation from additional information security companies, universities, research institutes and AI firms.

The announcement builds on the service’s initial launch in June 2026 across 20 countries where Google Voice was not otherwise available. Previously, customers in the newly added markets could purchase Google Voice with a first-party calling plan provided by Google. The expanded availability allows customers to use Google Voice with plans from certified local carriers.

Key Pointers

• 14 additional countries: The expansion broadens Carrier Link availability across the United States, Canada and much of Europe.

• Local carrier plans: Customers can combine Google Voice features with calling plans purchased from local providers.

• Four service partners: Southlight Services, Gamma Communications, Tata Communications and Telefónica Global Solutions are collaborating with Google Voice to support the rollout.

Local Carrier Integration Expands Calling Options

Google Voice Carrier Link enables Workspace customers to add phone numbers and calling plans from certified local carriers through a pre-configured, multi-tenant implementation of SIP Link. This approach simplifies the process of connecting carrier-provided calling services with Google’s cloud phone system.

Businesses can make and receive calls with payments handled by their chosen local carrier, reducing the configuration work involved in setting up business telephony. The arrangement also gives customers an alternative to relying exclusively on a calling plan provided directly by Google.

The four partners are working with Google Voice to offer the service across the newly supported markets. Their participation helps connect Google’s cloud communications platform with local calling services, although the availability of specific plans depends on supported countries and carrier arrangements.

Cloud Calling Designed for Business Simplicity

The expansion is particularly relevant to small businesses seeking cloud-based communications without the complexity of installing and managing their own telephony hardware. By combining Google Voice with local carrier plans, customers can retain the service’s calling features while using a local provider for their calling arrangements.

Business Implications

• Simplified deployment: Pre-configured SIP Link integration reduces the effort needed to establish a cloud phone system.

• Local billing arrangements: Calling plan payments are handled by the selected carrier, rather than requiring Google to provide the calling plan directly.

• Broader service reach: The additional markets extend the options available to organisations using Google Workspace for business communications.

The expansion increases Google Voice Carrier Link’s reach beyond its initial 20-country launch. Google’s announcement confirms the wider availability but does not provide separate adoption targets or customer uptake figures for the new markets.

As part of the arrangement, Amdocs will utilize certain intellectual property rights from QazCode, a company within the VEON group, and integrate that technology into Amdocs aOS, an agentic operating system purpose-built for telecommunications. The technology agreement positions both companies to advance the deployment of telecom AI and expand digital services across VEON’s operational footprint.

• The technology agreement runs for 10 years, with VEON and Amdocs as the contracting parties.
• Amdocs will run and continuously modernize VEON’s core technology operations across Eurasia.
• Certain QazCode intellectual property rights will be utilized and integrated into Amdocs aOS.
• The agreement is intended to provide long-term cost predictability across VEON’s IT operations.
• QazCode is part of the VEON group and serves as a digital partner of Beeline Kazakhstan.

Amdocs to Modernize VEON’s Core Technology Operations

The scope of this technology agreement covers the ongoing modernization of VEON’s core technology operations, with Amdocs taking responsibility for running and enhancing these systems over the next decade. The integration of QazCode intellectual property into Amdocs aOS is expected to strengthen the platform’s capabilities for telecom-specific applications.

VEON, a global digital operator providing connectivity and digital services to more than 150 million connectivity customers and more than 228 million digital customers across five countries, views the partnership as a way to support its evolution as a digital operator. The agreement is structured to deliver long-term cost predictability rather than short-term savings, though no specific financial figures have been disclosed.

“QazCode has helped us build the technology and talent to bring better digital experiences to the millions of people who rely on us every day, and adopting Amdocs’ aOS capabilities is a natural next step in that journey. Our strategic partnership with Amdocs creates a strong foundation to keep improving people’s lives through digital and AI innovation over the next decade,” said Kaan Terzioglu, Chief Executive Officer of VEON.

Telecom AI and Digital Services Shape the Partnership

The role of telecom AI stands central to this partnership. VEON has been expanding its digital services portfolio, with digital and AI services already representing a meaningful share of its business.

“Digital and AI services are an increasingly important part of how we serve our customers, already accounting for about 27% of VEON’s Group revenue, and that contribution keeps growing,” said Kaan Terzioglu, Chief Executive Officer of VEON.

“VEON is one of the most ambitious digital operators in our industry, and exactly the kind of partner we built aOS, the agentic operating system specialized for telco, for. With aOS, Amdocs will help transform VEON’s operations, customer experiences and digital services through verticalized, telco-specific AI, advancing its evolution toward intelligent agentic autonomy. VEON’s trust in Amdocs to lead this journey reflects our shared ambition to shape the next era of the digital operator. This agreement also expands Amdocs’ presence in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the wider Eurasia region, where we see significant opportunity,” said Anthony Goonetilleke, Group President, New Growth Horizons at Amdocs.

• Digital and AI services account for about 27% of VEON Group revenue, according to CEO Kaan Terzioglu.
• QazCode has more than 750 employees with experience in telecom and IT software development.
• Its capabilities include private large language models, business support systems, process optimization and IT outsourcing.
• Amdocs plans to integrate certain QazCode intellectual property into its aOS platform.
• Amdocs identifies Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the wider Eurasia region as areas of significant opportunity for expansion.

The rollout is designed to place AI capabilities directly in the hands of employees. Built on Gemini Enterprise’s low-code framework, the platform enables non-technical staff to create custom agents while maintaining enterprise-grade security and centralized control over agent orchestration. This approach is intended to reduce reliance on IT teams and support broader adoption of AI operations across the business.

“Our partnership with Google Cloud is a key enabler of our long-term strategic vision,” said Miguel Santos, CTO at Orange Spain “By leveraging Gemini Enterprise as a central platform, we are simplifying legacy operational complexities and giving our business areas greater agility. Google Cloud’s robust infrastructure and advanced AI allow us to streamline operations, drive sustainable efficiencies, and deliver groundbreaking services that keep us at the forefront of telecommunications innovation in Spain.”

Key areas supported by Orange Spain’s AI rollout include:

• Automating technical incident triage and routing
• Supporting system root-cause analysis through logs and diagnostics
• Providing natural-language access to internal corporate knowledge
• Automating routine internal service and operational requests

Scaling AI Operations Across Enterprise Functions

Orange Spain has assigned Gemini Enterprise licenses across major business areas and achieved a near 100% license activity rate within 30 days. Employees have since built more than 1,000 custom AI agents across human resources, IT, sales activities and customer service.

The agents are being used to automate workflows and support operational decision-making, while customer care teams are also using the technology to resolve requests faster. The broader deployment demonstrates how Orange Spain is embedding agent-based capabilities into everyday business functions rather than limiting AI development to specialist technical teams.

“Agentic AI marks a fundamental shift in how modern telecommunications companies operate, moving them from passive monitoring to dynamic, goal-oriented automation,” said Isaac Hernández, country manager Iberia, Google Cloud. “Orange Spain is setting a benchmark for the telecom sector by demonstrating how Google’s AI technologies can augment existing systems to solve real-world engineering, legal, and commercial challenges. We are proud to expand our partnership to help Orange Spain deliver faster, more resilient network services and exceptional experiences to their millions of customers.”

Data Foundation Strengthens AI Operations

Orange Spain’s expanded AI operations capabilities are supported by a data foundation developed with Google Cloud since 2018. The company has reduced data silos by consolidating its data warehouse on BigQuery and its data lake on Google Cloud Storage, unifying millions of data points generated per second.

The AI Factory’s data architecture combines:

• BigQuery for the consolidated data warehouse
• Google Cloud Storage for the data lake
• Retrieval-augmented generation for grounded responses
• Semantic search for natural-language access to verified corporate information

Together, these technologies enable custom agents to query Orange Spain’s internal knowledge and return responses grounded in verified corporate data. The expanded partnership positions AI operations as a broader operational capability, with Orange Spain continuing to scale agent-based automation across its workforce.

The deal is part of AT&T’s broader commitment to expand connectivity across the United States. The company said the agreement will help it deliver on its goal of bringing fast, reliable internet to 60 million Americans by the end of 2030, with Corning’s fiber and cable solutions supporting network deployment and installation efficiency at scale.

AT&T Expands Fiber Infrastructure with Corning Agreement

The agreement combines Corning’s fiber and cable manufacturing capabilities with AT&T’s network expansion programme. AT&T said the arrangement will provide the materials required to expand its network as data consumption continues to rise.

Key elements of the agreement include:

• Corning will supply the fiber and cable required for AT&T’s network expansion.
• The multi-year agreement is valued at more than $3 billion.
• The arrangement supports AT&T’s commitment to reach 60 million Americans with fast, reliable internet by the end of 2030.
• Corning’s solutions are intended to support faster network deployment and improve installation efficiency at scale.

AT&T said the average household using its fiber service now consumes more than 1 terabyte of data each month, compared with an average of less than 200 gigabytes in 2016. The company expects monthly usage to reach between 2 and 2.5 terabytes by 2030 as streaming, cloud services, business applications and AI use continue to grow.

John Stankey, Chairman and CEO of AT&T, said,”Fiber remains the gold standard for superior internet connectivity, and AT&T is the nation’s leader in fiber,” said John Stankey, Chairman and CEO of AT&T. “Fiber’s speed, reliability, and capacity remain unmatched for any home or business. We deeply value our long and successful relationship with Corning and look forward to continuing our work together as we expand the nation’s largest fiber network and make the long-term investments needed to keep America connected.”

Corning Supplies Fiber For US Network Expansion

AT&T said fiber provides the capacity needed to support residential and business applications, including video calls, cloud services, AI tools, live camera footage and other data-intensive uses. The company describes fiber as the high-capacity foundation connecting homes, businesses and communities, while wireless networks provide connectivity when customers are on the move.

The agreement strengthens the companies’ role in building fiber infrastructure in the United States while supporting domestic manufacturing and network deployment.

Corning is continuing to expand its U.S. fiber and cable manufacturing operations, including facilities in North Carolina. AT&T said its technicians will use the supplied materials to build and maintain networks connecting customers across the country.

Wendell Weeks, Chairman, CEO, and President of Corning, said,“Corning and AT&T have worked side by side for generations to connect people across this country, and this agreement is the next chapter in that partnership,” said Wendell Weeks, Chairman, CEO, and President of Corning. “By pairing our large, U.S.-based advanced manufacturing with AT&T’s network leadership, we can keep co-innovating to build the dense fiber networks that will drive the future of connectivity, while sustaining thousands of highly skilled American jobs and strengthening domestic supply chains.”

AT&T said its wider connectivity investments include more than $250 billion committed over five years to strengthen U.S. connectivity infrastructure. The company’s combination of fiber and wireless networks is intended to support connectivity across homes, businesses and communities, with satellite technology complementing those networks in some remote areas.

The more than $3 billion agreement provides AT&T with additional fiber and cable supply as it continues expanding its fiber infrastructure and network capacity across the United States.

Commstar Radio will use the solution for communications requirements including push to talk, utility workforce communications, fleet coordination, dispatch operations and remote infrastructure connectivity. The approach is designed to provide greater network redundancy where single carrier coverage may fall short, helping organisations maintain communications across demanding operating environments.

NExT SIM Extends Connectivity Across Multiple Networks

Telit Cinterion’s NExT SIM provides access to more than 600 mobile carrier networks globally, including the three major US networks. Built on the company’s georedundant NExT global network, the solution supports cellular technologies from 2G to 5G and serves both low power wide area (LPWA) devices and high bandwidth applications.

The multi network connectivity solution provides Commstar Radio customers with broader network access and additional coverage options.

Key capabilities include:

• Access to multiple carrier networks through a single SIM
• Support for cellular technologies from 2G to 5G
• Cat M and narrowband Internet of Things (NB IoT) coverage
• Connectivity across urban, rural and hard to reach environments

Commstar Radio specialises in wireless communications and connectivity for municipalities, utilities, transportation providers, field service teams and public infrastructure operators. Its services include land mobile communications, push to talk over cellular, wireless infrastructure connectivity, secure wireless services, mobile device management, cloud communications and cybersecurity.

“Our customers depend on communications systems that work wherever their teams operate,” said Kevin Hankes, president of Commstar Radio. “By partnering with Telit Cinterion, we can provide resilient multi-network connectivity across urban and rural environments while giving customers greater reliability, security and flexibility than traditional single-carrier solutions.”

Municipal Deployment Demonstrates Network Resilience

An initial deployment with the Village of Reeseville, Wisconsin, demonstrates the multi network connectivity approach for municipal communications and public service operations. The deployment illustrates how Commstar Radio and Telit Cinterion are applying the solution in an operational municipal environment.

The partnership is intended to support organisations that require dependable communications across different locations and operating conditions.

• Municipal communications and public service operations
• Utility workforce communications
• Fleet coordination and dispatch operations
• Remote infrastructure connectivity

Jake Pacala, village president, Reeseville, Wisconsin, said: “Commstar Radio has been a trusted and reliable partner for the Village of Reeseville since the company’s inception. Municipalities require an abundance of services in this domain, making reliability and service a must. When asked by neighboring municipalities for recommendations in this field, Commstar Radio is the first we mention.”

“Organizations responsible for public services, utilities, transportation and field operations need connectivity that goes beyond a single carrier, leveraging multiple networks to protect critical operations,” said Martin Krona, president of services and solutions at Telit Cinterion. “Together with Commstar Radio, we’re enabling secure, resilient communications that can intelligently leverage multiple carrier networks to keep people, devices and operations connected.”

The multi network connectivity solution gives Commstar Radio a way to provide customers with broader carrier access while supporting the reliability and flexibility required for critical operations. The partnership also extends the use of multi network connectivity across municipal and infrastructure-focused communications environments.